Local Fun Facts

Lake Minnetonka

Wayzata = Sioux word for north shore and or northern God of big winds

Lake Minnetonka:

• Encompassed by 14 different municipalities - 2 countys
• 14,004 acres of water, and about 110 miles of shoreline. - Source= MN. DNR  
• Max depth:  Debatable: -  MDNR says 113'  Others say as much as 130' -  Crystal Bay

Amusement Park:

• April 27, 1906-  The Twin City Rapid Transit Company opens “Big Island Park” .
• Features a 200' light tower.
• Rowing with your best girl on Sunday afternoon is very popular with over 60 rental boats available.
• John Phillip Sousa plays often at the Island Music Casino.
• As many as 15,000 visitors a day.
• Park had a large aquarium and a huge aviary with over 2000 birds, some brought in from Europe.
• Big Island park-  1906 to 1911, then was moved over to the Excelsior shoreline from 1925 to 1973
• In 1916 the park property (56 acres) sold to the Veterans’ organization for $ 60,000.
• On January 5, 2006  the former Park / Veterans’ property (56 acres) was sold to City of Orono for $ 5.7 million.

• 1819 Fort Snelling is established as the north-westernmost army post.
• 1852 Governor Ramsey "officially" names Lake Minnetonka.
• 1^st Settlement, Lake Minnetonka area, - 1852 - Minnetonka Mills,  -  1853 Excelsior,  -  1854 Wayzata. 
• 1st Hotel, 1853,  Minnetonka Hotel opens located at Minnetonka Mills. 
• 1^st Major Hotel, 1879,  Sir Charles Gibson opens Hotel St. Louis in Deephaven, 200 rooms.
• 1857- Plentiful wild Ginseng plants in area make many people vary wealthy.
• 1^st Rail lines, Wayzata- (St. Paul and Pacific Co.) Train arrives July 25, 1867.  J.J. Hill Train Depot- Now port of Wayzata
• 1^st Major Steamboat, 75' long, “The Gov. Ramsey” 1860 - built by Rev. Charles Galpin - Dismantled in 1873
• 1^st Streetcar boat, 1906 - a total of 6 were on the lake, (The Como, The Stillwater, The Hopkins, The Harriet, The White Bear, and The Minnehaha).  3 were scuttled in 1926.  Minnehaha was raised after 55 years. 
• Largest Steamship, “Belle of Minnetonka” Owned by J.J. Hill,  - 
•         -300' long- with a 60' beam,  2500 passengers, with a 60 piece dinner band.
•         -Came from the Mississippi River, named “Phil Sheriden” 
•         -Was dismanteled in 1893 and laid to rest on St. Albans Bay shoreline.
• Steamboat ridership- 35,000 in 1881, Vs. 90,000 in 1883. 
• 1883, top 3 major hotels register 10,000 guest in June & July.
• Minnetonka Yacht Club, oldest inland yachting association in the USA, - Est.1883, and is Incorporated in 1889
• In the lake's heyday (1880s - 1890s) there were more than 100 hotels / boarding houses around the lake area.
• Lafayette Hotel-  J. J. Hill Purchased land (38 acres) in 1880- $ 350,000.00, -  
•         -July 2, 1882 Hotel opens- largest to the west of NY. - 750' long 
•         -Originally had 880 rooms - Fire destroyed hotel Oct. 5, 1897 -  3^rd building now stands on the grounds.
• 1891- “alligator alley channel” is hand dug for Olaf O. Seales, - A Mpls. banker.
• 1922- Lake city, MN.  Lake Pepin is the birth place of water skiing- Ralph Samuelson.
• Minnetonka's largest island is Phelps Island. 

• Latest recorded ice-out date: May 8, 1856.
• Earliest recorded ice-out date: March 11, 1878
• Ice-out dates-  2006- April 9        2005- April 9     2004- April 6      2003- April 12      2002- April 16

Minnesota Fun Facts:

• Number of lakes in Minnesota: 11,842  (10+ acres)
• Number of natural rivers and streams in Minnesota: 6,564     (69,200 miles)   
• Total water surface area in Minnesota: 13,136,357 acres
• Wetlands present in 1850: 18.6 Million acres
• Wetlands present in 2003: 9.3 million acres
• Longest lake shoreline in Minnesota: Lake Vermilion, 290 miles.
• Mississippi river length in Minnesota: 680 miles. (2350 miles  = Total length) = (EPA’S #)
• 2^nd longest river in US = Missouri River
• Minnesota river length: 370 miles.
• Ten most common lake names:
•    Mud, Long, Rice, Bass, Round, Horseshoe, Twin,  - Island, Johnson, spring.  

• Deepest inland lake: Portsmouth Mine Pit near Crosby - 450' deep and rising.
• Deepest natural lake: Lake Saganaga, Cook County - 240' deep.

Maximum depths of a few large Minnesota lakes:

• Lake Superior - Max- 1290'
• Rainy Lake - Max- 161'
• Leech Lake - Max- 150'
• Cass Lake - Max- 120'
• Otter Tail - Max- 120'
• Minnetonka - Max- 113'
• Vermillion - Max- 76'
• Winnibigoshish - Max- 70'
• Mille Lacs - Max- 42'
• Upper Red Lake - Max- 18'

Largest border lakes:

• Lake Superior: 20,364,800 total acres with 962,700 acres in MN.
• Lake of the Woods: 950,400 total acres with 307,010 acres in MN.  

• Red Lake (both “Upper” and “Lower”) - 288,800 acres, - only 48,000 acres are public
• Mille Lacs Lake - 132,516 acres
• Leech Lake - 111,527 acres
• Lake Winnibigoshish - 58,544 acres
• Lake Vermilion - 40,557 acres
• Lake Kabetogama - 25,760 acres
• Mud Lake ( Marshall County) - 23,700 acres
• Cass Lake - 15,596 acres
• Lake Minnetonka - 14,004 acres
• Otter Tail Lake - 13,725 acres

Fish Species and State Records:

• 158 Fish species found in Minnesota:
• Walleye = 17.8 #          5-13-1979 Seagull River
• Lake Trout = 43.8 #       5-30-1955 Lake Superior
• Brown Trout = 16.5 #     6-23-1989 Lake Superior
• Brook Trout = 6.5#        9-2-2000 Pigeon River
• Northen Pike = 45.5 #    5-16-1929 Basswood Lake
• Muskie = 54 #              1957 Lake Winnibigoshish
• Carp = 55.5 #                7-10-1952 Clearwater Lake
• Largemouth = 8.75 #     10-22-1994 Tetonka Lake
• Smallmouth = 8.0 #      1948 W. Battle Lake
• Source: MDNR

More Minnesota Fun Facts

• Minnesota Name origin based on Sioux word for Sky-Tinted water
• Minnesota Admission Date: May 11, 1858 - Number 32
• Official- Bird = Loon, - Flower = Pink and White Lady’s Slipper, - Tree = Red Pine,
• Minnesota Population: 4,919,479 (2000 U.S. Census)
• Estimated 2005 Minnesota Population: 5,100,958 (US Census)
• Estimated 2005 U.S. Population: 293,655,404 (US Census)

Minnesota’s Largest Cities

• Minneapolis: 382,618
• St. Paul: 287,151
• Duluth: 86,918                                                   
• Rochester: 85,806                                              
• Bloomington: 85,172